*1. See general categories for Implementation Schedules. *2. Other agencies' responsibility would be of a cooperative nature or projects funded under a contract or grant program. In some cases contracts could be let to universities or private enterprises. *3. Note: Task costs have not been estimated for this plan. This species' present/historic distribution coincides with that of other listed species. Thus, a task aimed at this species will benefit others. rather than attempting to apportion the costs to each species, recovery tasks will be estimated at a later date when the plans are combined on a watershed basis for implementation.
The primary populations of this wide-ranging species are in the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, Green, Meramec, Osage, and Saline Rivers and some of their larger tributaries. Status assessment-type survey work has been conducted in most of these streams in the past 5-10 years. The largest populations now clearly reside in Tennessee River below Pickwick Landing Dam, TN, and Saline River, AR. The species in both streams occur over many river miles and appears to be improving in status. All other populations are considerably smaller. See draft 5-Year Review for details. In addition, propagation technology has been developed, and some marginal populations are being augmented with cultured individuals grown out to a taggable size (~15 mm long). Streams of historical occurrence are also being assessed for reintroduction efforts.

According to the draft 5-Year Review (August 2014), 29 populations are extant, but roughly half are marginal in status. Only a few are relatively large and robust. Seeing that its largest populations are in lower Tennessee River, TN, and Saline River, AR (see Action 1.1), it is clear that these are the most important populations to protect. Further, given its wide range, it is also important to protect peripheral populations to protect genetic stocks from throughout its range. This information is more/less up-to-date as of August 2014.

Primary threats include navigation channel maintenance activities and reservoir operations, and to a lesser extent, the zebra mussel invasion (e.g., Ohio River). Stochastic events, such as a major chemical spill in the Ohio River in 1999, impact localized populations.

Pink Mucket Pearly Mussel

F

4

Asheville Ecological Services Field Office (828) 258-3939

Pink mucket (pearlymussel)

Lampsilis abrupta

2

2.3

Develop and implement protection strategies for areas developed under Task 1.2